This year’s Celtics have run over a lot of the competition this year. The additions of Porzingis and Jrue Holiday have really helped. Porzingis has really opened up the offense and provided a release valve when teams start aggressively doubling Brown and Tatum. He may be their most versatile scorer, which is very important for reasons i’ll get into in a minute. He can score from the paint with little touch shots. He has a good jumper that extends out to the 3 point line. He’s also a great (and willing) passer. Holiday has been super helpful at times on both sides of the ball as well.

When this team is on, they run away with games. They started out this year with the ball moving really well. They were running a nice fairly balanced offense. However, as the season progressed, that went away a little. The flip side is when they lose games, this team looks terrible. Unwatchable. I’ve seen comments from fans around the world on NBA Instagram posts saying “Celtics are the most consistently inconsistent team ever” etc. They lose games they have no business losing, and they often lose them at home.  This brings harsh criticism from fans, and media…even some of the normally glass always full Celtics media has had things to say.

The team gets up there in the post game press conferences and says things akin to “we’re not going to win them all, people can’t expect that”, or “we’re not a super team” etc. First off, actually..you are a super team. Ownership has bent over backwards to fortify this team. A lot of teams, (even in Boston currently) don’t get that kind of investment and attention from ownership….and their fanbases are reacting accordingly, and in some cases attendance and overall caring/interest from fans is down. (See Boston Red Sox).  They need to respect this opportunity and the people creating it.  These windows don’t stay open as long we think they will.

Secondly, those statements miss the point. People can deal with losing games. Everyone drops a game here and there, and sometimes to a team you don’t expect. This is why you play the game. What people can’t deal with is inconsistency and unpredictability. I mean, I can predict this team, but that’s because I understand competition (something i’ll get into momentarily) and the mental make up of people. I often know when this team is in a higher percentage spot to lose…and people always say” you’re crazy”…often only to  have to be quiet after the fact because I was right.

The problem with these losses is that it shows a few things. This team has always struggled with the tough, unified,  fundamentally sound team that won’t go away. This Celtics team loves to front run. However the tough teams that don’t lay down and stay within striking distance consistently insert drama into games that shouldn’t be interesting. This happens for different reasons.

The first reason is lack of offensive/basketball diversity. When the 3’s aren’t going in, this team can’t win. It doesn’t know how to win any other way than to out shoot opponents into oblivion. There’s never any adjustment. They don’t test the pick and roll, or go into the post and run some motion. They never stop and take the mid range shot that’s often open in these horror show games we’re talking about. Part of this is coaching. They have to teach, and it’s obviously not happening. I don’t dislike coach, but I have thought since the beginning that putting a coach with no experience in charge of a championship potential team was irresponsible. The other possibility is the over embracing of analytics…which is asinine. Analytics discount the whole human element, which is the basis of how we compete, and is the foundation of greatness. They also oversimplify and diminish the game. However this is another discussion for another day. I digress.

Back to coach, it’s not all his fault either. They had Ime Udoka, and while they responded to him at the time, they didn’t necessarily retain anything.  There has been very little growth of basketball iq on his team in the last 5 years. They still often make the same mistakes in the same situations. They still can’t win without the 3. They still fall into iso ball. Tatum and Brown still mostly don’t play offense without the ball. They still sometimes show something that looks like a lack of mental toughness or compete.

What does competition level, or basketball iq have to do with diverse basketball? Everything.

Competition is war. That line in the Matrix, “You never know someone until you fight them’ is true. You can learn a vast amount about someone in the conditions of high stress competition if you pay attention. The great players have always understood this. It’s not just about knowing the athletic talent and potential that a player has. It’s about knowing how they feel emotionally about you, the game, and the current circumstances. Once you know this, you can literally know when a player is going to shoot, drive, make a specific move, or on the defensive end…go for an up fake etc.. You can actually put opponents in certain situations to get reactions out of them, thus you’re actually manipulating them and they don’t even know it.

See, if you’re a weapon on the court, you have responsibility to contribute. You should want to contribute…to win…to bury the opponent. I’m not saying they don’t want to win. They do. However, the lack of offensive diversity shows they don’t know how to at times. You’re not going to have your shot every game. Fact of life. You have to find another way to be productive. If the 3 isn’t going, step in. If the lane is closed for whatever reason, adapt. Take the 3, if the 3 isn’t going AND the lane is closed…which is what a lot of the typical Celtics horror show games look like…TAKE THE MIDRANGE JUMPER.

If you’re getting shut down, you have to find another way. Competition is about actions and reactions. If they’re doubling you relentlessly, and you’re a fierce competitor, are you going to sit back, let the double team come, and just make the appropriate pass all night…thus letting them take you out of the game?  Hell. no you’re not. If you can’t move faster than the defense while you have the ball, you have to move without it. You have to make them pay for making that level of  defensive investment in guarding you. That means you move without the ball. Test the pick and roll. If that doesn’t work, run around a screen or two to create a catch and shoot situation. You have to be flexible enough, and tough enough mentally to not let the opponent take you out of the game. THIS is what it means to compete. You have to say no way am I letting my opponent stop me.

When you move without the ball, it makes the defense react. In doing that, you set off a chain reaction of possible events. You can put the defense (individual defenders even) into positions where they have to make tough decisions. Do they double, and leave their guy? If they do, will the person they leave cut to the hole? If one player cuts, will that open up an opportunity for another player to move etc. You’re in essence involving other players on the team without even passing them the ball. THIS is basketball. If you let them sit back and not work defensively because you’re offensively predictable, you’re done….especially on the days when the shots aren’t falling or in the playoffs when coaching matters more because you’re playing the same team for a few games.

Now, if you do all this and you have a bad game..it just is what it is. You left everything on the table. You did your best, and you lost that day. No shame.

This is the crux of why people are so critical when they lose. It’s not the loss persay, it’s HOW and WHY  they lose…and the fact that they are still losing in the same manner after years of being together.

This team should go to the finals. I believe they will. It seems like I just ripped them to shreds, but I like this team. I like them as players and what I know of them as people. From afar, and from the fan perspective they seem like solid people. There’s a lot there to like.  You don’t hear stupid things in the news about them. I’m happy to have them here. I think we’re lucky to have them here. I know other people feel the same. The players themselves just have to realize the real reason why people are critical. Once they do, they will truly realize and fulfill their true potential.

 

This is the path. Learning how to win takes a long time for some. It’s not easy.

I wish them the best.